Arc welders wearing conventional safety helmets with a protective darkened window frequently experience considerable injury to their eyes and experience difficulty in viewing the work. I have discovered that this difficulty is due largely to the reflected glare from the inside surface of the protective and/or darkened window by reflected light or other radiation that reaches the window from the welder's side of the window around the inner sides and under the top of the helmet. Such light and radiation is emitted from surrounding areas adjacent and behind the welder and his work. Such other sources of radiation are welding arcs that have been struck by other welders in the vicinity, essentially rightwardly or leftwardly behind the welder, and even indirectly from the welder's own arc.
When the welder has a conventional safety helmet in operating position over his face, there is necessarily a clearance of about an inch or more between the welder's head and the inside and rearward edges of the helmet. It is through this open space that the light and/or other radiation often enters and reflects off the inside surface of the lens or window to interfere with the welder's vision and/or his ability to view his work properly.
Gas welders usually employ no helmet and avoid the problem of reflection by wearing conventional gas-welding goggles with a soft flexible body portion that fits around his eyes. The problem with goggles, however, is that they are insufficient for use in arc welding operations, since not only the eyes, but also the entire face and neck of the welder must be protected from sparks and radiation.
The protective arc welder's helmet combined with my present invention, however, reduces the dangers and difficulties indicated above and affords other features and advantages heretofore not obtainable as will appear more fully below.